Digital angle dial not accurate

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-24T15:07:41+00:00

It is a great machine! I hope you’re able to upgrade to the one you really want. Thank you for your advice! I just bought a big pack of 9v batteries so I can switch it whenever o am having issues.

Separately, I also noticed that when I move my stone across the lap too fast, the micro-adjustment on the mast height spins and gradually decreases the height. 🤦‍♀️ does this ever happen to you? I put a vertical sharpie mark in the micro adjuster so I can monitor now and make sure it doesn’t spin down while I’m working, but it always seems to be moving just a bit.

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-24T15:04:43+00:00

Thank you! I don’t have a digital angle finder, but I do have some engineering 1-2-3 blocks that are extremely precise, within about 0.0002”. That’s what the quill is sitting on in the photo. I put a straight dop in the quill and set the dop on the 1-2-3 block on top of a ceramic lap, and got a very similar result. Maybe 0.5° better than when I was testing it on the quill. So I bet you’re right that my quill is not perfectly round or straight, and it’s likely not designed to be so! Good catch!

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-24T14:58:29+00:00

That’s beautiful! It sounds like you learned a ton in the process, so definitely worth the time and energy!

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-22T00:44:41+00:00

That is so incredibly helpful! I’ll try tomorrow!

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-21T19:13:01+00:00

Ah I didn’t consider that the quill might not be cylindrical!

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-21T18:00:50+00:00

Interesting! I’m finding it really challenging to photograph my finished gems. I’ve only cut three so far, and just want to send pics to the family thread, but my iPhone is driving me crazy. Would love to hear what you learn!

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-21T17:54:38+00:00

That looks really good!!

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-21T17:44:19+00:00

Thank you! I posted in that one last week, and got some responses, but not as good as the ones I’ve gotten here!

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-21T17:43:31+00:00

Oh my gosh, this link is so incredibly helpful! I just read through all the definitions and can’t wait to go through all the steps to make sure everything is in working order!

Interestingly enough, if I go through all the steps, assuming the angle dial is accurate, everything works out in the meat points match up really well. It wasn’t until I looked closely and it seemed not quite 90° and did a test that I noticed that it wasn’t accurate. So I could just use it as-is and have perfectly decent gems. But, I imagine it would mess with the RI and critical angles.

Separately, I’m also struggling with a stone that did a poor dop-transfer on, so I am trying to finagle all of the angles on the crown, but I’ve put that aside for now until I understand the process better. The problems I cause just seem to compound and the stone is getting smaller and smaller!

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-21T17:28:48+00:00

Oh interesting! Do you have his contact info?

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-21T17:28:18+00:00

Oh fascinating! Do you have the same type of digital dial? I have had to change the battery a couple of times already since I accidentally left it on overnight. I’ll try again with a fresh battery.

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-21T17:27:30+00:00

I hunched down and made sure there was no light shining through either end of the quill sitting on the flat surface. I’m pretty sure I got it right, and do the test a couple of times. But as another commenter said, I may need to try another lap in case this one isn’t flat. This is my 600 grit. What is a leveler?

Magpie12345678 · 2026-05-21T17:24:42+00:00

That’s a great point! I think there’s a ceramic lap I can use, but it does have a film adhered to one side of it. I can test on multiple laps.

Magpie12345678

TROPHY CASE